Men's Track & Field

PREVIEW: WARRIORS HEAD TO GORILLA CLASSIC

PREVIEW: WARRIORS HEAD TO GORILLA CLASSIC
Posted: Feb 09, 2023

Pittsburg, KS – The Indian Hills Men's and Women's Track & Field squads are set for their final meet of the regular season as the Warriors head to the 8th Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic on Friday and Saturday. A number of individuals and relay squads have their sights set on hitting national qualifying standards and improving on personal best marks heading into the postseason.

DETAILS: 8TH Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic

Friday, February 10 – Saturday, January 11

Pittsburg, KS  |  Robert W. Plaster Center

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS: Schedule

LIVE RESULTS: Midwest Timing Results

TICKETS: $5 at the door

WOMEN'S NOTES

The Indian Hills Women's Track & Field squad heads to Pittsburg as the No. 13 ranked team in the nation after the latest USTFCCCA rankings were released on Wednesday. The Warriors are also ranked No. 3 in the USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings and sport three top-10 event squads heading into the final regular season meet.

  • Indian Hills boasts the No. 2 200-meter event squad in the nation, trailing only New Mexico Junior College. The Warriors own an average mark of 25.11 led by Zaniya King's 24.75 and Jahzara Hart's 24.78. King has set a new PR in each of her last two events.
  • The Warriors own the No. 60-meter squad heading into the weekend, led by Hart's personal best time of 7.53. Hart has broken the 7.60 mark four separate times this season. 
  • Haley Bellamy owns three top marks for the Warriors in the 60-meter, 600-yard, and long jump events. Bellamy's 1:32.81 mark in the 600-meter is a national qualifying mark.
  • The Warrior quartet of Adalin Robinson, Shanice Cox, Jahzara Hart, and Ja'Dashia Catlin are on the verge of qualifying for the 4x400-meter event at nationals. The Warriors' time of 3:59.22 is just short of the 3:59.10 mark needed to qualify for nationals.
  • Sophomore Haleigh Hadley heads to Pittsburg looking to improve on her school record in the high jump with a national qualifying mark of 1.70 meters. 

MEN'S NOTES 

The Indian HIlls Men's Track & Field squad jumped back to No. 3 in the latest USTFCCCA national rankings, up one spot from its spot in the poll last week. The Warriors are ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Midwest Rankings and own six top-five event squads. 

  • Indian Hills owns the top-ranked 1,000-meter event squad with an average time of 9:54.40 thanks to Rivaldo Marshall's school record mark of 2:23.23. Four different individuals have hit national qualifying marks in the event for the Warriors.
  • Marshall, who owns five indoor school records, also leads the Warriors in the 600-meter and 800-meter event squads. The mid-distance group, including Tyrice Taylor, Mohammed Al-Yafaee, Cole Reinders, Kylen Crosby, and Jorge Becerra, have each earned at least one national qualifying mark.
  • The men's 4x400 relay squad of Woyn Chatman, Tyrice Taylor, Chris Johnson, Rivaldo Marshall have posted the third-fastest mark in the NJCAA this year with a time of 3:12.56, an Indian Hills school record.
  • The Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, KS has been friendly to the Warriors in recent years, including last year's national championship that saw Marshall and Indian Hills alum Aurel Tchanbi take home second-place honors in the 800-meter and 60-meter dash, respectively.
  • Former Warrior Kenny Bednarek still owns the facility record at the Robert W. Plaster Center in the men's 200-meter dash. Bednarek's time of 20.43 came in the prelims at the 2019 NJCAA Indoor National Championship.

EWING'S NOTES

"The Gorilla Classic has traditionally been a meet where some of our program's best marks have come," stated head coach Brent Ewing.

"On the men's side, our national qualifying lineup is mostly set. There's a few individuals competing for final spots in some of the sprints events, including being a part of the 4x400m relay pool. A big goal of mine this weekend is to take a crack at the NJCAA record in the DMR. Chris Johnson, Rivaldo Marshall, Tyrice Taylor and Mohammed Al-Yafaee will be running in it Friday night. I think we have a very good shot to break it. I'm also targeting the men's 4x400m. This will be the first time we have completely stacked it all year. I think we can break the school record by a few seconds."

"On the women's side, we're looking to get the 4x400m relay qualified. I also think we have a few more ladies who are capable of qualifying in individual events. Shanice Cox in the 200, Adalin Robinson in the 400 and Haley Bellamy in the long jump and 600. I anticipate we could have a few female sprints records go down. The women's 60m and 200m school records could be in jeopardy."

WHAT'S NEXT

The Warriors will head to the NJCAA Region XI Indoor Championship in Storm Lake, IA, hosted by Buena Vista University at the Lambert Recreation Center February 17-18. The 2023 NJCAA Indoor National Championship is set for March 3-4 in Topeka, KS at Washburn University.